State v. Burke

Melton, Justice.

Following a jury trial, Sean Burke was found guilty of aggravated stalking based on a single contact that he made with Elaine Bolton in violation of an earlier protective order. The Court of Appeals reversed Burke’s conviction, finding that, because the State’s entire prosecution was based on a single violation of the protective order, and because a single violation of a protective order does not, in and of itself, establish a pattern of harassing and intimidating conduct, the State had not proven that Burke was guilty of aggravated stalking. See Burke v. State, 297 Ga. App.…